On May 3rd, 2007 our life totally changed when the doctor told us that our son Andrew will leave us to start his new life with God . Our pain was unmeasurable and unbearable, right away we asked God why we had to go through this painful trial?
We found the answer in James 1:12 “Blessed is a man who endures trials, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that He has promised to those who love Him”.
But God, what should we do now? The answer came again in James 1:5 “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him”.
So God gave us the wisdom to understand the mission He chose for us and that is to glorify His name in every occasion of our lives happy ones and sad ones. That is why we chose to celebrate and honor our son Andrew’s new life with Him by wearing blue ‘the color of the sky ‘ where we believe our son Andrew is , and white to represent the light as Jesus told us "I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life". John 8:12
The custom of wearing unadorned black clothing for mourning comes from a Roman idea ; the mourners could prevent being haunted by the ghost of the deceased by cloaking themselves in black . The color black best represented the Victorian act of mourning because it symbolizes the absence of light and in turn, life.
During the Middle Ages, in the Christian's religious tradition, wearing the color black symbolized the earth through the biblical interpretation of the phrase “ashes to ashes and dust to dust”. But Roman Catholic Funeral masses today use the liturgical white or gold rather than black, as a sign that the funeral represents a Mass of the Resurrection. In that sense, it is an occasion for joy, because our Lord Jesus Christ defeated death; this is the major Pilar of our Religion...On Good Friday, the church uses the color red because it represents the color of our Lord Jesus Christ’s blood that he shed for us on the cross.
Our hearts are torn apart from this tragedy but we always remembere what Jesus told us through Saint Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians 4:13 “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no HOPE.”
In Mark 7:8 Our Lord Jesus got mad at the Pharisees and told them “Disregarding the command of God, you keep the tradition of men.” and that applies to us when we don’t Glorify God with our traditions...
Thy way, not mine, O Lord,
However dark it be!
Lead me by Thine own hand;
Choose out my path for me.
I dare not choose my lot:
I would not, if I might;
Choose Thou for me, my God,
so shall I walk aright....
–By, Chuck Swindoll
Many Christians are frightened and demoralized when temptation hits home, feeling guilty that they are not “beyond” temptation, but with us we never forget James message to all the Christians 5:11 “We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. Job is an example of a man who endured patiently. From his experience we see how the Lord's plan finally ended in good, for He is full of tenderness and mercy.... and another message in James 2:17-18"Faith , if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself. But someone will say, you have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith from my works.”
Finally we cannot be afraid or shy of revealing our faith in front of everybody because our Lord Jesus told us in Mathew 10:32-33 “Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven”.
Our Lord Jesus said in Matthew 13:43“Anyone who has ears should listen”
GOD BLESS YOU ALL